Sexual assault awareness advocates don denim

By
Sonny Long
April 23, 2013 at 8:03 p.m.Updated April 22, 2013 at 11:23 p.m.

Advocates of sexual assault awareness will don denim Wednesday in support of survivors of sexual assault and to help dispel myths about it.

The Denim Day movement has its roots in Italy in the 1990s when a man appealed his rape conviction and had it overturned because of the tight jeans the victim wore.

Every year since 1999, Peace Over Violence has organized Denim Day as a rape prevention education campaign, according to denimdayusa.org.

As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, area agencies also launched a campaign at area restaurants and bars.

Special cocktail napkins have been distributed with a message warning patrons on the potential of a risky situation, according to information from Mid-Coast Family Services.

In addition, tip sheets were provided to restaurant and bar owners and staff with pointers and precautions to possibly head off a potential sexual assault situation.

"This is Mid-Coast Family Services' first year to participate to this degree in sexual assault prevention," said Tammy Harger, victim services coordinator. "We have added a new sexual assault program to our agency, and though sexual abuse has long been considered in family violence prevention, we now have resources within our own agency to help sexual assault survivors."

Agencies collaborating on the sexual assault awareness effort are Mid-Coast Family Services, Golden Crescent Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, University of Houston-Victoria Victim Intervention and Prevention Program, the Victoria County Sheriff's Office and the Victoria Police Department.